Barbie Releases ‘Robotics Engineer’ Doll To Encourage Young Girls To Enter STEM Field

Barbie has released the “Robotics Engineer Barbie” dolls in hopes of sparking an interest in coding in young girls. The 60-year-old brand has partnered with kids coding company Tynker to offer six free coding classes to those who purchase these dolls.

The diverse set of four dolls, dressed in safety googles and denim jackets, comes with a toy laptop and a robot. They are retailing for $14.

The coding classes will teach girls how to give the robot commands.

“For us it was give [girls] the inspiration, let them know they can do this, and then give them some steps to get them started,” Mattel’s chief technology officer Sven Gerjets told CNET. “So we know that they progressively grow and they are the employees that we hire in the next decade to fill the STEM-type jobs that are so critical.”